Evidence: State of the English Cities

The report's key findings are summarised below under the five main themes.

The full report can be downloaded from the ODPM's web site.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 'STATE OF THE CITIES' REPORT

DEMOGRAPHICS
• In 2003, 58 per cent of the English population lived in cities. There has been a reversal in the decline of city population with cities accounting for 42 per cent of population growth between 1997 and 2003. London provided 34 per cent of England's total growth.

• More recently there has been a convergence in population growth rates: London's growth rate dropped after the turn of the century. Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle moved up steadily from their high losses of the early 1990s.

• The ethnic minority population of England rose between 1991 and 2001 from 3.06m to 4.46m. London's increase in non-white population was the greatest, almost half of England's total gain.

ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE
• There are signs of recovery in many cities and many cities have been continually successful during recent decades. 

• Economic performance, as measured by Gross Value Added per capita, grew faster than average in 25 of the 56 cities in the period 1995-2002, including in 6 of the 8 Core Cities.  Nine cities had growth rates more than 10 per cent above the national average.  Most of these were in the south and east but Manchester was a notable exception.

• Cities accounted for 63 per cent of England's jobs in 2003. Cities outside the capital contributed 44 per cent of the total growth in jobs between 1998 and 2003, compared to 14 per cent in London.

• However, economic performance is uneven. In general, cities in the south and east tend to have levels above the national average, cities in the north and west tend to be below, although Manchester and Leeds are exceptions.

• Lagging cities in the North are picking up.  Larger ex-industrial cities in the North are finding new economic niches (e.g. Manchester and Leeds). Derby, Northampton and Manchester all have a rate of change in productivity (GVA per employee) higher than the England average.

• Many cities in the north and west are developing qualities that underpin successful economies, such as innovation, economic diversity, a skilled labour force, communications, quality of life and leadership capacity.

• Rates of employment have improved in many north and west cities, including those that started with the lowest employment rates at the beginning of the decade such as Wigan, Grimsby, Middlesbrough, Sheffield and Hull.

• The change in weekly earnings also indicates progress.  Among the cities with the highest rates of earnings growth are those that started with relatively low absolute levels in 1998, including Blackburn, Blackpool and Mansfield.

• London is highly successful with a GVA over 40% above the national average.  It has the highest proportion of working age population with degrees, high proportion of employees in creative industries and knowledge based business services as well as strong strategic leadership across the Greater London area.

• London is a world city leading South East growth but English cities trail behind many of the highest performing continental cities in terms of economic competitiveness. London ranks 23rd on GDP in table of cities in Europe.  Only Bristol (34th) and Leeds (43rd) are also in the top 50.

LIVEABILITY
• Liveability is improving overall and policies are contributing to measurable improvement in the quality of urban spaces.  PSA8 is helping focus attention and investment in public spaces, as well as emphasizing LAs' responsibility for improvements. The deterioration of urban public spaces is beginning to reverse.

• Improved research and dissemination of good practice, such as work produced by CABE Space and Encams, is helping to reverse decline in parks and open spaces. 

• Neighbourhood Wardens Programme (launched in 2000) improved residents' perceptions of their neighbourhood because of reductions in fly tipping, graffiti, litter and dog fouling.  6% more residents thought their areas were getting better in 2003 than in 2001.

• Residents' satisfaction with local parks has risen from 63% in 1999/2000 to 72% in 2003/04 (Best Value User Satisfaction Survey).

• The proportion of sites rated by Encams as being good or satisfactory has risen by 4% to 40% between 2002/03 and 2003/04 (Local Environmental Quality Survey).

• Street Crime Initiative has led to a 17% reduction in street robbery.

SOCIAL COHESION
• There has been improvement in social cohesion across the country.  Employment conditions have improved considerably in some of the poorest cities.  For example, the change in employment rates has exceeded the national average in Wigan, Grimsby, Middlesborough and Hull.

• The gap has begun to narrow between poorer neighbourhoods and the rest of England in educational achievement, employment rates and teenage pregnancy.  The proportion of people with degrees has risen everywhere – especially prosperous cities that already had many graduates.

• Health conditions are generally improving and people everywhere are living longer, however, apart from in London, health is worse in towns and cities.  Male life expectancy has increased across the country but is still highest outside urban areas.  Men in Bristol and London can expect to live 3 years longer than men in Liverpool.  Similarly, Liverpool and Newcastle have higher rates of long-term limiting illness compared to London.

• The vast majority of cities have become more integrated during the past decade. The top 8 cities on White/Non-White segregation are all in the north and west.  Segregation by ethnicity has fallen between 1991-2001 in 48 out of 56 cities.

• However, cities still face challenges. The level of deprivation is higher and more widespread in cities than in other parts of the country and there are higher levels of unemployment and worklessness. The rate of recorded crime is generally higher in cities but vehicle crime and burglaries have declined slightly. 

GOVERNANCE
• Local leadership is important. Entrepreneurial, local leadership is crucial in helping to find new economic futures for cities, their businesses and residents. 

• Introduction of more executive decision making by the 2000 Local Government Act has strengthened local government's leadership role.

• Engaged and successful local leadership has been critical for the regeneration of many cities. 

• Public satisfaction with the overall performance of local government, however, is low compared with most other public service providers.

• The emphasis on joined up working has encouraged greater partnership working. 

• Relationships between national and local government are working better.

• The Government has taken positive steps to promote more joined up urban governance at neighbourhood, urban, city-regional and national level.